Inevitably, talks broke down but were left perfectly amicable, and upon his return to the UK, Jean-Nicol received further communication from the exciting and expanding Khmer company, requesting he broker licensing deals enabling the newly opening Cineplex Cinema to screen the latest releases from Hollywood and beyond. Jean-Nicol’s work in this field proved so successful he was filling their screens with the hottest releases from the cinemas opening, and within three months was offered a package by Sabay he simply could not refuse. By October 2010 he had moved full time to Phnom Penh and set up Sabay Entertainment: mainly concentrating on film distribution of international (Twilight, Step UP Revolution, 3AM, etc) and domestic (Arb Wears Helmet, 25 Year Old Khmer Girl, Lost Loves etc..) Box Office smashes.

It was he that introduced Sabay to pan SE Asian media giants MVP, who have film distribution and cinema networks in over eight different countries. Jean-Nicol personally invited the two respective CEO’s to meet and discuss amalgamation, eventually creating a superpower within the film industry in Cambodia. Jean-Nicol was made Managing Director of the newly formed SABAY / MVP, a heavily backed film investment & distribution company, unique in its ability to tie Cambodian film into territories all over Asia as well as dominate the domestic market.

Receiving executive production status on many new films coming out this year, Jean-Nicol is one of the foremost leading lights in the Cambodian film industry renaissance. His insistence on nothing but the highest production values and obsession with creative perfectionism is at times daunting for those he works with, but he feels it the only way to ensure that the rest of the World soon comes to respect and enjoy what Cambodia has to offer on the big screen.

Dr Chen Chanratana also used to works at Southeast Asia Television (SEATV), in Phnom Penh, for the programs: Education and Culture, Khmer Performing Arts, Technology and Documentary, and he also works as a tourist guide for French and English speakers for all cultural and historical sites in Cambodia. Through a variety of jobs and responsibilities at Phnom Penh and Paris, KDNK became intimately familiar with the local and international partnerships and the people that make it up.

Experiences on Media:

University Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Since 2009 she has been studying fillm
at M.E.T.A (Media Education and Training Academy) Phnom Penh, supported
by the Goethe Institute. Moreover, she has attended workshops in India,
the Philippines and Indonesia. So far, Sopheak’s documentaries have been
screened at numerous international festivals in Asia & Europe. In February
2013, she was the first female Cambodian filmmaker ever to be invited to
Berlinale film festival (Berlin, Germany) – one of the most important festivals in
the world. At the FilmCAMP 2013, Sopheak will talk about her experiences.

Nicolaus Mesterharm and Marc Eberle

Topic: Capture The New Cambodia!

Make Your Own Documentaries

NICOLAUS MESTERHARM is a German journalist and filmmaker. He has been working in Cambodia for 12 years, where he has directed a large number of TV programs and documentaries for the local and international market. In 2007, Nico founded the arts and media center Meta House Phnom Penh. In April 2009 Meta House opened a masters class for young Cambodian documentary filmmakers: The M.E.T.A program (Media Education and Training Academy) is a unique “on-the-job” training, funded by the German “Goethe Institut”. It enables participants to conceptualize and produce their own documentaries with the help of foreign media professionals. So far, over 30 films have been produced. A large number of them were screened at international festivals.

German film maker MARC EBERLE has previously directed TV documentaries in Oman, Pakistan, India, Nepal,Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar. The Phnom Penh resident has also helped to set up Cambodian Television Network (CTN), as producer, director, production manager and coach of the local staff. Starting January 2012, Marc has been appointed Artistic Director for DocNet South East Asia, a two-year regional training initiative funded by the EU and Goethe Institut with numerous panels, round tables, workshops and a master class in Indonesia, The Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Burma. Currently, he is teaching documentary film making at the Meta House in Phnom Penh.

ERLE and NICO MESTERHARM will talk about documentary film production – and why young Cambodian film makers should make use of existing opportunities to reach out to the world by telling important stories…

Todd has lived in Cambodia since January 1999.

He has over 23 years of leadership experience working with adult leaders, youth leaders, teachers, mentors and young people in New Zealand and Cambodia. He has carried a wide range of roles and responsibilities involving teaching, training, leading, energising & motivating while relating to people of all ages, especially adult and young leaders. Read more.

His professional and personal achievements centre on a desire to see people reach their potential and use their skills and abilities to do and be the best they can, both personally and professionally. This is the ‘ripple effect’ in action. Todd created and leads Ripple Effect Consulting which specializes in the growth of people and the enhancement of their projects. The Ripple Effect has been working alongside individuals and organisations in Cambodia since January, 1999.

Ripple Effect believes that training is effective when it is a creative, fun and participatory. Ripple Effect Consulting specializes in the design and delivery of tailor-made, creative, interactive and participatory training experiences/training packages, ranging from workshops, small group work, coaching, round table training and follow ups which are participant-centred. Their forte also includes curriculum development, leadership/ management development, training of trainers, motivational and inspirational input sessions, succession and strategic planning, project evaluations and running corporate/team conference, retreats, sports events & fun days.

Ripple’s approach centers on effective application and outcomes, towards supporting personal, professional and organisational/business growth and development.

Topic: Location, location, location, it’s the same in every walk of life. But when it comes to working as a location scout, it’s make or break time, as you need to find inspirational realities that mirror the director’s vision.

Lost temples in the jungle, colonial-era gems in the backstreets of a capital, a backdrop for a refugee camp or a sleazy bar, the requests can range from the sublime to the ridiculous, but anything is possible with a keen eye and an open mind.

Sometimes it is obvious… you’d have to be pretty shortsighted not to be able to find a jungle-clad temple around Angkor… but other times you might have to dig around for days trying to hit the spot. But there is nothing more rewarding than getting it right and finding that perfect place that the director envisioned when writing the script.

Location Scout and Manager Nick Ray discusses the art of location scouting and management in Cambodia and the Mekong region.  

Bio: 

Based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nick has lived and breathed Asia for 15 years. Nick is the Location Scout and Location Manager for Cambodia-based film production company Hanuman Films (www.hanumanfilms.com). Nick has worked in roles as diverse as Location Manager on Tomb Raider around the Temples of Angkor to Line Producer on the BBC Top Gear Vietnam special. Nick has scouted with many leading film directors, including Jean-Jacques Annaud on the locations for Two Brothers. Beyond the world of film, Nick is an experienced author for Lonely Planet and has written around 40 guidebooks on destinations as diverse as Cambodia and Uganda. Nick also works as a lecturer and occasional tour leader for leading travel companies from the US and UK.

He took a class “3D animation” with other 15 students during his senior year. In just one semester Sopheak and his classmates produced a short 3D animation film from scratch, means everything are drawn and modeled originally, character, objects, architecture, vehicles, props…etc. Sopheak is a part of One Memory Media Team that is specializes in Photography and Cinematography. He has made TV Infomercials for Bayon TV and short TVC for Let’s Do It! Phnom Penh 2012.  In this upcoming Film Camp, Sopheak going to share his two cents on “Correlation of Photography and 3D Texturing” and “In depth of Cinematography”.

Visit his latest work at:

http://sopheakchheng.com

http://onememoryphoto.com

3D Animation Film Made by his class: https://vimeo.com/34914400

TV Infomercials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otb7pjuHIRk ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv4VoqX5Ukk

As a representative of the Film France network regional members, he actively participates in the development of the French film commissions outreach within the Film France Board. In 2009, he is appointed CEO of the newly created Cambodia Film Commission, an organisation linked to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia to promote Cambodia as a film destination. He is dedicated to create a better filming environment in Cambodia, train crews and support shoots of foreign producers in the “land of smile”. In 2010, he initiates the Cambodia International Film Festival, that has now run for 3 years and has become the largest cinema event in Cambodia with a professionnal outreach.